Amazing Emperor Penguins March to the Beat of Their Own Drum

With their funny gait, tuxedo coloring, and agile underwater acrobatics, penguins hold a special fascination for us landlubbers. The unusual sheetlet of six stamps from the French Antarctic (right) commemorates the Emperor Penguin, the tallest (nearly 3 feet) and heaviest (about 75 pounds) of all living penguin species. (Click the post title for more information and to order this interesting stamp issue.)

The Emperor Penguin is the only one that breeds during the brutal winter in Antarctica, according to an article on Wikipedia (click the link to read the article). Social animals, Emperors forage and nest in groups and have an average lifespan of 20 years, reaching maturity at 5 years. While they generally feed on krill and small fish found under the sea ice at depths of about 150 feet, Emperors are capable of diving to depths of 500 to 800 feet and staying underwater for 20 minutes at a time. Their typical swimming speed is 4 to 6 mph but they can achieve short bursts of up to 12 mph.

Last year the film March of the Penguins documented the amazing lengths to which Emperor Penguins go to procreate. Each March at the beginning of the Antarctic winter, mature Emperors embark on a 60-mile journey to their breeding grounds deep on the desolate ice sheet. Alternately walking with their peculiar wobbling gait and sliding over the ice propelled by feet and flippers, their numbers form a single file line from horizon to horizon as they approach the nesting site atop the thickest part of the ice sheet, far from predators.

Perhaps most amazing is that each penguin will make this long, brutal journey four times. After laying her egg, females take the long march back to the open sea to feed, returning to the nesting site about two months later to feed the chick. The males stay behind for the duration of the harsh winter to incubate the one-pound egg in a special brood pouch atop their feet. They huddle together by the hundreds during storms for warmth, rotating so that each has a turn in the warmer middle of the pack. Temperatures are typically a frigid -40 F. with fierce 120 mph winds. When the mother returns, the father marches back to the sea to feed, returning in a few weeks to help feed and care for the chick. His journey is not as long as the pack ice begins to melt as summer approaches, bringing the sea's edge miles closer to the nesting grounds. Once the chick has grown its feathers, the family marches back to the sea to feed for the rest of the summer. The delightful 5-stamp series pictured (above, left) features photographs of Emperor Penguin family life. Click the link to order this charming issue from the Ross Dependencies.

County Stamp Center is pleased to offer these and many other stamps commemorating penguins. Global warming is causing the shrinking of the polar ice sheets and the breeding grounds of cold-adapted penguins like the Emperors are at increasing risk. The unfortunate day may come when our only memories of these incredible birds are captured on film, in photographs and on stamps. Visit the County Stamp Center website to view our complete collection of penguin stamps. Just enter "penguin" in our unique search feature. Come to County Stamp Center for all your philatelic needs.